MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



view of the fact that surrounding conditions vary greatly, it is difficult 

 to say exactly how many colonies are positively necessary for a given 

 number of trees. However, four or five well-populated hives for every 

 hundred large apple trees will doubtless suffice, even though no other 

 hive bees are within a mile of the orchard. The bees of a neighbor's 

 apiary are often quite sufficient for the orchardist's purpose, the benefit 

 resulting from their labors being, therefore, mutual, though the orchard- 

 ist doubtless derives in this case greater advantage from them than 

 does their owner himself. Escaped swarms lodged in forest trees in 



FIG. 52. Heath-like wild aster (Aster ericoides) . (Original.) 



the vicinity of the orchard are sometimes sufficiently numerous to per- 

 form the work well. The great value of bees as cross fertilizers makes 

 their destruction a serious injury to the interests of the fruit grower. 

 Therefore spraying with arsenicals during fruit bloom should never be 

 practiced. The injurious insects can be reached quite as well before 

 and after the blooming period. 



HONEY AND POLLEN PRODUCING PLANTS. 



In the following lists the intention has been merely to indicate the 

 main sources from which our hive bees secure honey and pollen. Any- 

 thing like a complete enumeration of those plants of the United States 



